By: Kerry Ding
On June 6, 2023, in Kherson, Ukraine the Kakhovka Dam was blown up and destroyed. Evidence shows that Russia most likely blew it up from the inside.
The Kakhova Dam is very important to Ukraine. After the explosion, huge currents flowed over the rest of the dam that hadn’t collapsed yet. These waters would soon flood many areas. It is believed that the cause of this huge catastrophe could be far beneath the waves.
The structure of the dam was very prepared for any external attack. This is why engineers believe that the dam was blown up from the inside. One huge flaw of the Ukrainian dam is that it was built by the Soviets. This means that Russia knows its design.
The dam is held up by a huge concrete block at its bottom which has a small passageway that runs through it. Engineers believe, in this passageway, a bomb exploded and destroyed the dam.
At 2:35 A.M. and 2:54 A.M. Romanian and Ukrainian seismic sensors sensed the signs of large explosions. At the same time, U.S satellites captured infrared heat signals of the dam when they went by at 2:15 A.M. and 3:00 A.M.
After one part of the dam fell apart, the currents quickly degraded the rest of the broken dam. After this catastrophe, both Russia and Ukraine were blaming each other for blowing up the dam. However, evidence suggests that Russia had blown up the dam.
Even in this destructive war that obliterated cities, the blowing up of the dam is especially damaging. Thousands of people had to move away because of the water from reservoirs overflowing into living areas. These reservoirs are extremely important for Ukrainian irrigation. Ukraine produces tons of food every year. Many people all over the world buy food from Ukraine and the destruction of the dam made food more expensive and rarer.
The dam was already damaged before it was destroyed due to multiple Ukrainian and Russian attacks in nearby areas. Russia used this argument to say the dam collapsed on its own from its previous damages and avoid blame for the destruction. When engineers were interviewed by the New York Times they quickly concluded that the damage the dam had suffered could not have collapsed the dam like that. It had to have been intentionally destroyed. Engineers concluded that we can’t know for sure what caused the dam to collapse unless all the water is drained, and an investigation is started. However, many engineers agreed that the gallery room would be the best spot to put a bomb if you wanted to blow up the dam. This would lead to more people being displaced. Also, food prices would skyrocket as the biggest food-producing countries are at war.
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